“Black Panther” Curriculum Is Now A Real Thing For Students In Chicago

“Black Panther” Curriculum Is Now A Real Thing For Students In Chicago

Marvel’s Black Panther has without a doubt left a huge mark on the box office and to the millions of attendees who watched the Ryan Coogler directed film. When the movie first came out T.I., TDE’s Anthony Tiffith and Serena Williams and more all gave back by taking youth to free screenings of the film.

The latest story of someone taking a cue from the movie is a Chicago teacher by the name of Tess Raser. Tess has started a Wakanda based curriculum for her students to teach them about African history and Afrofuturism.

“I want to push black kids to critically engage with media and literature, especially when black bodies are centered,” she tells Blavity. “I’ve been working hard this school year to push my class, all black students, to have a deeper understanding of the African continent, its diversity, its connection to us.”

The two-part lesson plan will use the movie to drive discussions around African colonialism and American racism. So far she says her students have already been very interested.

“I hope that my students leave a lesson a little bit more confident in their blackness, that they see themselves as leaders equipped with the political analysis and tools to create the Wakanda of their dreams,” Raser said. “I hope that they learn the ways in which our blackness connects us to people across the world, while appreciating and understanding and honoring our differences.”